Do you ever find yourself losing health motivation, like those times when exercising and maintaining a healthy diet seems impossible? Unfortunately, it happens to many of us—we go all out for a few weeks when we’re motivated, and then our determination to get in shape quickly fades. The result? We fall back into poor health habits.
Sound familiar?
And what if we told you that we had a solution? Have you ever thought about trying to tackle a few simple changes at once instead of taking an all-or-nothing approach to living a healthy lifestyle?
Studies show that your best chance at keeping at your health and weight loss habits comes from making minor changes that feel easy to upkeep. Taking small, positive steps helps you continue moving ahead consistently, and being realistic about the changes you want to make and goals you want to achieve can help you hit your health goals.
Luckily, our experts at Xcellent Life put together these tips and tricks to help you do that. So try these ten tips and tricks to help you make those small changes each day—here’s to your health journey!
If you want your goals of living a healthy lifestyle to come to life, you must ensure that everyone around you makes you feel good about yourself—no matter your current struggles—including you.
For example, if your close friends encourage poor health habits (like overeating, drinking, smoking, etc.), it’s going to be a challenge to maintain your health motivation. So instead, surround yourself with those who want a healthier you and practice good habits.
And it’s important not to get hung up on your waist size or the numbers on the scale—it’s more beneficial to focus on your health from the inside out; eating well and exercising regularly are typically the best ways to start feeling better about yourself.
Remember, you can look and feel healthy and great without being extremely thin or toned.
Reconsider Your Role Model
Going back to that last point, select positive role models for your health journey—you don’t need to look like a Barbie doll or a bodybuilder to be healthy and look amazing. There are better ways to live your life than focusing on looking like someone else; make a plan, maintain your health motivation, and take those small steps we mentioned in stride.
If you’re unsure how to choose the right health role models, don’t worry; it’s as easy as looking up to those who make you feel better about yourself and your progress instead of the ones who make you feel bad. Find a strong, healthy, genuine role model to help you along your journey.
Figure Out Why You Overeat
Overeating is one of the most significant dangers we face when trying to make healthy changes. Unfortunately, many of us have faced this challenge over and over. The key to staying motivated is understanding your problem areas and creating a plan to deal with them.
First, look at what causes you to overeat; do you use food to cope with rejection, boredom, disappointment, etc.?
After determining why you overeat, it’s time to think about healthier ways to cope with those moods that don’t involve food. It can help to keep your kitchen full of healthy snack options (fruits, veggies, yogurt, nuts, etc.) to make it easier to avoid high-calorie foods when you can’t resist reaching for something to eat.
Don’t Let Yourself Go Hungry
That said, undereating is one of the biggest causes of overeating. If you starve yourself and go too long without eating, you’re more likely to overeat later because you’ll be ravenously hungry.
Too strict of a diet doesn’t work well for anyone; you should include planned snacks throughout the day to help prevent binge eating. You can also allow yourself some treats to enjoy your favorite foods every so often without feeling guilty—living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean giving up everything you love!
We’ll say it as often as we need to—having health motivation and making lifestyle changes does not have to be all or nothing. Instead, start small with a few simple changes each day; these changes can be to your diet, exercise routine, or anything you want it to be! They add up over time, resulting in a significant health boost.
And because we know setting goals is hard, we put together some easy suggestions you can try:
Start avoiding foods that are high in trans-fat
Drink an extra glass of water each day
Take a quick walk before work
Add fiber to your daily meal plan
Take breaks at work and walk in place (or around the office, it that’s an option_
Add an extra serving of vegetables at lunch and dinner
Cut out foods that are high in carbs
Find Your Supporters
We all need someone to support us—they give us a reason to keep up with our goals and help us not lose our health motivation. So find your cheering section, whether your support comes from your spouse, a good friend, an online group, or a coworker.
Think of some people—it can be one, two, or as many as you like—and talk to them about holding you accountable and supporting you as you work toward your health and lifestyle goals. Choose people you can call upon when you’re struggling to make and stick to good habits.
But don’t just talk with them when things are tough; when you reach a goal (any goal, no matter how small), invite them to celebrate with you!
Don’t Stress
If you slip up every now and then by overeating, skipping your exercise routine, drinking too much, etc.—don’t stress and forgive yourself! Beating yourself up doesn’t do any good. Instead, acknowledge the slip-up and keep going.
Plus, allowing yourself an indulgence now and then is perfectly fine—if you feel guilty for having a cocktail or dessert during a special night out, stop worrying about it and return to your normal routine the next day.
Don’t Forget Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight
It’s easy to see someone living a healthy life and looking great as lucky; however, the chances are they’re working extremely hard at it every day. So instead of thinking that way, learn from them. How did they transition to a healthier lifestyle, what are their exercise and eating habits, etc.?
Not to mention body diversity—even if everyone ate the same, wholesome diet and stuck to the same exercise routines, our body shapes would still be extremely diverse.
So make a commitment to change your lifestyle habits, and give yourself plenty of time to reach your goal. Finally, understand and accept that your body is supposed to be a certain size—even if it’s not as thin as you’d like—and feel good about it!
Move More, Sit Less
Being a little more active is a great start to making healthy choices. And it’s not hard! For example, you can park further away from the store to get extra steps in, take the stairs at work, or go for a walk with your children, friends, or pets.
It works because it’s simple—the more time you exercise, the more calories you burn. Making a deliberate effort to sit less and move more is an excellent way to increase your physical activity and move towards a healthier lifestyle.
Celebrate Your Health Motivation Each Day
While adding healthy habits to your everyday life, don’t lose your health motivation or forget to enjoy the journey each day. Many people would agree that their lives and hopes for the future rely on hitting a specific goal or destination and forget about the pleasure they can get from making the necessary changes.
Problems may come up if your goal overshadows everything else—celebrate your health motivation and find fun in the journey where you can.
And although creating and maintaining healthy exercise and weight loss goals is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle, ensure that you take the time to celebrate the little things each day. Live life for the moment and take in the simple pleasures throughout your time working toward a healthy lifestyle!
Celebrating each day is easier when you can get personalized health insights showing your progress. Get yours here.
How Will You Use These Health Motivation Tips?
Perfect health doesn’t exist, and every one of us faces challenges. However, every decision we make offers an opportunity to choose the best outcome for our health and well-being—this is what gives us power!
Our journey to a healthy lifestyle starts with a single decision; you can start right now with these tips.
Whether it’s choosing a healthier lunch today, going for a walk after dinner, unplugging a few hours before bed to get better sleep or anything else that promotes good health habits, you’ve got this, and we’re here to support you throughout your health and wellness journey.
A strong health benefits package is key to attracting and retaining top employees. In fact, a study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute showed that 60% of employees say health insurance is the most important benefit to them. Another survey found that 57% of employees consider their health benefits to be a key reason they stay at their current workplace.
But, it can be hard to offer competitive benefits without breaking the bank, especially when you are a small or medium-sized business. Luckily, you can implement a few strategies to strike a balance.
Keep reading to learn our top tips for reducing health care costs in 2023.
When choosing a health plan, you might be tempted to pick the cheapest one. However, choosing one that offers the best value, not just the lowest cost, is critical.
Cheaper plans may save you money on premiums. But they may not provide the coverage your employees need. Employees need to know they can access the kind of care they need, where and when it is needed.
If they can’t get adequate care, you will face higher turnover and loss of talent. These kinds of problems affect smaller businesses disproportionately more than larger businesses. Therefore, it’s important that you strike a balance between the cost of your employees’ healthcare and the coverage it offers.
Choose Your Health Plan Wisely
When choosing a health plan, you need to consider your options carefully. Various factors will affect which one will be the best balance between costs and the care your employees need.
Consider What Your Employees Want and Need
Everyone needs some level of healthcare coverage. However, the level and kind of coverage each individual needs will vary from person to person. Some people need more, and others need less.
This is something that you need to consider when picking out a plan. Consider options that will give a little flexibility. Some employees may prefer a generally more affordable plan with higher deductibles over a plan with low deductibles but more options. Meanwhile, for some, the inverse may be true. This is why offering a few different options is key.
Think About the Total Cost of Care
It can be very difficult to determine the cost of care that is ultimately necessary. This is because a few factors can determine healthcare’s overall cost.
For example, preventative care seems almost like an unnecessary cost. After all, most people seeking preventative care are perfectly healthy. However, chronic diseases that would have been avoidable through preventative care end up resulting in 75 percent of America’s healthcare spending. Avoiding preventative now can result in costly treatments later.
This is why thinking about the total cost of care is important. It views the situation from multiple different angles.
Want to offer your employees competitive health benefits without an outrageous cost? Our corporate wellness solutions are just what you need! Schedule a free consultation with our CEO to learn more!
Consider Level-Funding
To cut costs, some companies choose to self-fund health insurance. This way, they can save on premiums, savings, and assessments. In addition, there might be exemptions from state requirements. However, self-funding comes with many risks due to the inability to predict the costs of claims.
Level funding is a less costly option that involves an employer paying monthly premiums. Like self-funding, this is a cheaper insurance option. However, unlike self-funding, level-funding is more stable and prevents the employer from dealing with larger claims.
There are more administrative requirements than traditional plans. However, level funding may be a great option if you choose a good partner and have the resources to do so.
Many employers try to offer various benefits, including medical, pharmacy, dental, and employee assistance. But managing multiple plans can be a burden and add to your costs. Integrating your benefits can save money, streamline processes, and provide better care for your employees.
If you opt for integrated benefits, make sure to pay careful attention to the plan. The structure, pricing, and possible hidden costs of each component can make a difference in your costs. Be sure to fully understand what kind of plan you are choosing before signing up.
Search Out Plans with Low-Cost Services
During the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of use for virtual care jumped dramatically. Since then, the use of telehealth services has remained high because of the convenience they offer. Many options don’t even require an appointment. Services such as these cost less than conventional care.
Access to convenient, low-cost options increases the chances that people will seek care when it’s needed. Earlier care can help treat conditions that are still more treatable and less severe. This usually translates into lower-cost solutions.
The services your employees choose to access can directly impact your costs. If employees have easier access to low-cost services, it is more likely that they will opt for low-cost plans that have high-deductible HSAs.
These kinds of plans have lower premiums for those that are fully insured. Employers that self-insure or choose level-funding will have lower claim costs.
Encourage a Healthy Culture
Healthy people seek healthcare less often than less healthy people. This automatically saves you money on premiums. In addition, healthy employees are also more likely to choose a lower-cost plan during onboarding or open enrollment. Therefore, encouraging your employees to become and stay healthy is key to reducing your healthcare costs.
One easy way is to choose a health plan that fully covers preventative services. You should also encourage your employees to use these services. Staying up to date on immunizations, preventative screenings, and follow-up care can help keep employees healthy.
It’s also critical to encourage wellness in the workplace. Reduce exposure to hazards on the job. These could be hazardous substances that can lead to disease. But it can also be improper posture which can lead to injury.
Educating your employees about ways they can improve their health doesn’t have to be difficult. An easy way to know where to start is to see how your employees are currently approaching their health.
Xcellent Life’s app is a simple way to gather analytics that provides personalized insight into your employees’ well-being. You can help them figure out where they can improve and make a plan to do so.
As a benefit, using our app won’t add a huge chunk to your budget. It’s a cost-effective way to gain insights to tailor your health plan better and encourage a healthier culture in the workplace.
Work Towards Reducing Health Care Costs in 2023
Affordable healthcare is key to keeping employees happy, healthy, and productive. By taking steps towards reducing health care costs and balancing quality, you’ll be able to offer health benefits your employees need while maintaining a positive experience.
Wondering how Xcellent Life fits into your healthcare costs and offerings? Get in touch for answers to all of your questions!
A company or organization greatly impacts the health of its workers. The average American spends about 8 hours, or one-third of the day, working each day. So, how the company uses those hours and promotes health outside those hours greatly impacts a person’s well-being.
This is important to know because healthy workers are good workers. You are creating a better group of employees by promoting an environment and work culture that emphasizes health and well-being. So, by doing this, you help everyone involved.
Keep reading to discover exactly how promoting health in the workplace is helpful. Then, discover how to do it.
Benefits of Promoting Health In the Workplace
The CDC states that promoting health in the workplace improves productivity. This happens through a variety of different factors.
One direct benefit of promoting health in the workplace is a decrease in health risks. Health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses are far less common in people with healthy lifestyles. By improving the health of your employees, these same employees will deal with fewer of these issues and, thus, will be less negatively impacted by them.
Lower Absenteeism
When employees are sick, they do not come to work. Or, they come to work anyway and get more people sick, thus leading to more people missing work in the future.
By promoting health, you can prevent this. Less absenteeism directly leads to more work being done and better efficiency overall.
Lower Cost of Healthcare
It sounds contradictory, but healthy people generally rely less on healthcare. Their healthy lifestyles prevent them from dealing with as many problems, and thus, they do not need as much healthcare.
Encouraging your employees to be healthy reduces healthcare costs for everyone. This impacts the amount your company needs to spend on health plans.
Improved Focus, Efficiency, and Productivity
Healthy people don’t just show up more often; they are also more effective when they do show up. Think about how difficult it is to work after spending a few days off with a cold. You aren’t nearly as effective as you would have been with a clear head. Your employees will be more focused, efficient, and productive when they are healthy.
Better Employee Retention
Retaining employees creates a group of well-trained workers in your company while reducing the amount you need to spend on recruitment and training.
In creating a healthy work environment, you will increase employee retention. Employees will be happier and more likely to stay with the employer that is making them happy. Plus, fewer employees will be forced to leave due to health issues.
Want to learn more about how Xcellent Life can help you promote health in your workplace? Send us a message now!
Tips to Promote Health at Work
Now that it is clear that corporate wellness is important, let’s explore how to go about promoting health at work. Keep reading to discover a few helpful tips.
Watch the Number of Hours Worked
Stress has a massive impact on health. The American Psychological Association states that stress impacts the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, and reproductive systems.
The amount of time spent at work influences employee stress levels. Working long hours for multiple days in a row will stress workers. Meanwhile, offering breaks and cutting hours will leave them less stressed.
Include Social Support
Another way to reduce stress is to receive support and help from others. However, only some have a strong social network.
You can encourage stronger social networks in your employees in several ways. This can be through fun workplace functions or the creation of social groups. These result in a better community health approach.
Health insurance has a pretty obvious benefit on health. People without insurance struggle to pay for medical bills and often forego treatment to avoid these bills.
Providing health benefits to your employees creates better patient engagement. This allows them to treat their health issues and receive the healthcare they need.
Include Fitness Initiatives
Health and fitness go hand in hand. By creating fitness initiatives, you can encourage a greater fitness level among your staff. These can range from offering healthy snacks at lunch to including light workout equipment in the office.
Offer Mindfulness Classes
Mindfulness allows people to be present in the moment and avoid being overwhelmed by stress.
You can encourage mindfulness by offering classes that teach it. You can host them in the office or provide the means for employees to attend classes on their own. Nowadays, you can even promote it through apps!
Understand and Encourage Healthy Behaviors
In many cases, the thing preventing someone from being healthy is that they don’t know how. Many people aren’t sure which behaviors are healthy and which ones are not.
You can change this by developing methods to inform employees. This can be as simple as emailing health tips or making them available in the office. Or, it can be more advanced and include a full health class.
Subsidize Gym Memberships
One of the best ways to be healthy is to exercise on a routine basis. This is easy to do if you have access to a gym. However, many people avoid gym memberships because of their cost.
If your company subsidizes gym memberships, you will increase the number of employees who use a gym. By doing so, you will encourage these same employees to exercise and be healthy.
Support Preventative Screenings and Vaccinations
A well-known adage says an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When it comes to many health problems, this is true!
Providing employees with and encouraging them to take advantage of preventive healthcare helps. This includes preventative screenings at regular checkups and any recommended vaccinations.
How to Promote a Healthy Workplace
Creating a healthy workplace often goes beyond making a few quick changes. You can make a better corporate wellness program by taking stock of your situation and fine-tuning it as necessary.
Survey Your Team’s Needs
Start by determining what your employees need. If your employees work at desks all day, their needs will be different from those who do manual labor.
Consider sending out a survey or asking employees for suggestions. This can help uncover any health issues you may not have known about.
Draft a Policy and Initiatives
Once you’ve gathered information, you can start crafting your approach. Create a policy that addresses the issues you noticed. In addition, highlight the specific initiatives you plan to include. Make sure the entire approach is straightforward and easy to understand.
After your approach has been implemented, let it run for a little while. Then, start to collect feedback.
Send out a survey asking how people like the program. Make sure it asks what is working, what isn’t, and what they would like to change about it.
Adjust as Needed
Once you have enough feedback, you can make any adjustments you determine are necessary. If you received a lot of positive feedback, you might have fewer changes. However, if you received a lot of negative feedback, you may need to return to the drawing board.
Keep Your Employees Healthy
Promoting health in the workplace positively impacts employees and their employers. You can make this possible through a well-designed health plan and a few helpful initiatives. All you have to do is create an approach that works for your company!
The world is extremely different than it was a few years ago—and this is more evident in healthcare than in any other industry. Between the aftermath of the pandemic, the acceleration of technology adoption, and a nationwide financial downturn, the landscape has changed dramatically for everyone.
Let’s explore the most important healthcare trends you need to know going into 2023.
Do you want to keep up with all the latest healthcare technology trends? Then, learn about how we’re changing the healthcare landscape with real-time digital human diagnostics.
The rising cost of medical supplies and equipment: The cost of medical supplies and equipment, such as surgical instruments, medications, and diagnostic tests, is increasing due to various factors, such as inflation and the increasing cost of raw materials.
Higher labor costs: As the demand for healthcare services increases, the labor cost is also increasing due to a shortage of healthcare workers and the need to provide competitive salaries plus benefits to attract and retain staff.
Increased use of technology: Advanced medical technology, such as robotic surgery and diagnostic imaging, has risen in recent years, leading to higher costs for hospitals and other healthcare providers.
Higher real estate costs: The cost of real estate, especially in urban areas, has increased significantly in recent years, leading to higher costs for hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Increasing regulatory requirements: Healthcare providers must comply with a growing number of regulatory requirements, such as quality standards and patient safety regulations, which can increase costs.
Overall, these factors contribute to an increase in in-person costs in healthcare, making it more expensive for patients to receive care.
COVID-19 Impacts the Claim Experience
COVID-19 has led to later-stage healthcare diagnosis, which refers to diagnosing a medical condition at a later stage in its development when it may be more challenging to treat.
This happened before the pandemic, too—from causes including a lack of access to healthcare, delays in seeking medical care, or a failure to recognize the symptoms of a condition. However, it has become much more common over the past few years, and late-stage diagnosis can lead to poorer health outcomes, as the condition may have progressed to a more advanced stage by the time it is diagnosed.
Most insurers report an increase in these later-stage diagnoses due to deferred care—the practice of delaying or postponing medical treatment or care. This can happen for various reasons, such as a lack of access to healthcare, financial constraints, or simply a lack of awareness about the need for treatment.
Plans Are Modernizing
Many healthcare insurance plans are modernizing to be more inclusive, often offering a more comprehensive range of coverage options and adding more inclusive language to their policies.
A large number of insurance companies are also working to improve the overall customer experience by making it more accessible and helping people understand their coverage options. These improvements include offering more online resources and tools and providing better support and assistance for customers with questions or concerns about their coverage.
Overall, these changes aim to make healthcare insurance more accessible and user-friendly for everyone, and it’s one of the most positive healthcare trends of the year.
Limited coverage for certain mental health conditions, such as personality disorders or eating disorders
Insufficient coverage for inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient programs
Limited access to specialized mental health providers, such as child and adolescent psychiatrists or neuropsychologists
Lack of coverage for alternative treatments, such as acupuncture or art therapy
High deductibles and copayments can discourage individuals from seeking mental health care.
Limited coverage for mental health services in rural or underserved areas
Lack of coverage for ongoing therapy or support groups
Insufficient coverage for individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions
Lack of transparency in coverage and reimbursement policies, leading to confusion and difficulty in accessing care
Limited coordination between physical and mental health care providers, resulting in fragmented care and potential gaps in treatment
Insurance Plan Management Needs Are Changing
One of the key changes in healthcare is the shift towards a value-based care model. This means that healthcare plan managers must focus on providing effective, cost-efficient, and high-quality care. This can involve implementing strategies such as population health management and risk stratification to identify and address the needs of high-risk individuals.
Additionally, the healthcare industry is facing increasing pressure to reduce costs and improve efficiency. This means that healthcare plan managers must be skilled at identifying areas for cost savings and implementing strategies to achieve these goals. This could involve collaborating with other healthcare providers, implementing more efficient processes, and leveraging data analytics to make data-driven decisions.
Overall, the changing needs of the healthcare industry are driving a shift towards a more focused, data-driven approach to healthcare plan management. This requires healthcare plan managers to be adaptable, tech-savvy, and strategic in their decision-making.
Are you a buyer for a healthcare insurance company? Don’t fall behind on the latest healthcare trends—enhance customer satisfaction, offer self-service options, accurately predict premiums, and more with our insurance optimization solutions.
Healthcare professionals have always known that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to patient care; however, technology has allowed them to make personalized care plans and build relationships with their patients in many ways.
As value-based healthcare becomes more prevalent and healthcare technology continues to evolve, the industry is changing—and we must ensure that it’s for the better.
Regardless of your interest in healthcare, staying on top of current trends is crucial. From the effects of COVID and rising healthcare costs to a modern approach to insurance plans and a focus on mental health, there’s no doubt that these healthcare trends will affect many of us—even if we aren’t in the industry.
We know breaking a bad habit is hard—but small decisions add up quickly when building healthy habits.
So what do you do?
Luckily, we’ve put together our thoughts on the best healthy habits for you to start in 2023—let’s get started!
Do you want to start developing healthier habits? Don’t keep putting it off—check out the digital health solution designed to give you personalized health insights.
Breakfast is often named the most important meal of the day—it provides the body and brain fuel after an overnight fast. In addition, eating a healthy breakfast can help improve concentration and productivity while reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases.
Some research suggests that regularly skipping breakfast can lead to weight gain and various health problems. Instead, it’s generally best to eat a balanced breakfast with a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, which can help you feel satisfied and full until your next meal.
Start Meal Planning
There are several reasons why meal planning can be beneficial. First, it can help you save time and money by allowing you to buy groceries in bulk and plan your meals in advance. This can also help you avoid food waste, as you can plan your meals around ingredients you already have.
Second, meal planning can help you make healthier choices and ensure every meal includes a balanced mix of nutrients.
Finally, meal planning can help reduce stress and make your daily life more organized and manageable.
Drink More Water
Drinking more water is vital for your overall health. Water is essential for your body to function properly and helps to keep your body hydrated. When you are hydrated, your body is better able to perform its functions, such as regulating your body temperature, digesting food, and removing waste.
In addition, drinking water can help keep your skin healthy, make you feel more alert, and even aid in weight loss. It’s generally recommended that adults drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day.
Exercise
Regular exercise is essential for maintaining good physical health and mental well-being. In addition, it can help to improve cardiovascular health, build strength and flexibility, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases, including obesity, type two diabetes, and heart disease.
Exercise can also improve mental health and mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and enhance cognitive function. According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, it is recommended that adults engage in 150 minutes (or more) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week (walking, cycling, etc.) or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise (running, dancing, etc.).
Focus On Your Muscles
In addition to improving your physical appearance, increasing your muscle mass can also have numerous benefits for your health, such as improved bone density, better metabolism, and increased strength and endurance. In addition, focusing on your muscles can also improve posture, balance, and coordination while reducing the risk of injury.
Meanwhile, engaging in regular physical activity and following a balanced, nutritious diet to support muscle growth and overall health is essential.
Of course, as with any form of exercise, it’s important to consult your healthcare provider before starting a new workout routine to ensure that it’s safe for you.
First and foremost, it can reduce stress and improve mental health. Constant exposure to screens and the continuous stream of information can be overwhelming and lead to feelings of anxiety and stress. Taking a break from technology can give your brain a much-needed rest and allow you to relax and unwind.
Going offline can also improve your physical health. Spending too much time sitting in front of a screen can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, increasing your risk of obesity, heart disease, and other health problems. By unplugging from technology, you can increase your physical activity and improve your overall health.
Learning a new skill has many benefits for your personal and professional life. For example, it can keep your brain healthy and sharp, help you gain confidence, and improve your problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.
It can also be an excellent exercise to keep your mind active and engaged, which can help prevent age-related cognitive decline.
Additionally, learning a new skill can open up new career opportunities and help you advance in your current job. Learning a new skill is a healthy habit that can positively affect your life.
In general, quitting smoking can improve your overall health and well-being and add years to your life. It’s never too late to stop, and many resources are available to help you.
Sleep Better
Getting enough quality sleep has many health benefits, including improved cognitive function, mood, and heart health. It can also help with weight control and reduce the risk of chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, etc.).
Sleep is also important for maintaining a healthy immune system and reducing the risk of certain types of cancer. Additionally, getting enough sleep can improve physical performance and help with wound healing and recovery from illness.
In general, getting better sleep can lead to improved overall health and well-being.
Get Outdoors
Spending time outdoors can have many health benefits. For one, exposure to natural light can help improve mood and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety.
Plus, being outdoors can help improve cognitive function and increase creativity. Spending time outdoors can also help improve physical health by providing opportunities for physical activity, such as walking, hiking, or running.
Overall, spending time outdoors can provide a number of mental and physical health benefits, making it an essential part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Exercise regularly, with a focus on balance training exercises. These include standing on one foot, walking heel to toe, or practicing Tai Chi or yoga.
Maintain a healthy diet with an emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods, fruits, and vegetables.
Stay hydrated by consuming plenty of water throughout the day.
Get enough sleep each night, as sleep is important for both physical and mental well-being.
Practice Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness has various health benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep, and increasing overall well-being. It has also been shown to help cognitive function and decision-making and may even positively affect physical health conditions such as high blood pressure and chronic pain.
Some research has also suggested that mindfulness practice may benefit your immune system and help protect against illness. Overall, practicing mindfulness can help individuals live more mindful and present lives, which can have a wide range of positive effects on mental and physical health.
If we had one more tip, it would be to find a way to track your health, record your data, and track your progress with personalized insights. Interested? Schedule your free consultation here.
Take Advantage of These Healthy Habits to Start in 2023
Sticking to your new healthy habits is a never-ending battle. You need to think about how to make your habits work in addition to what you want to work on.
The takeaway from these healthy habits should be that you can change certain aspects of your lifestyle to feel healthier and happier. And while shifting your mindset won’t be easy, it will be worth it.
Implementing employee wellness at work programs used to be about offering various healthcare benefits. However, it means so much more to support your employees’ well-being.
Wellness at work now encompasses a holistic approach to health, focusing on mental, emotional, financial, and physical health.
We’ll explore what wellness at work means, why every company should implement it, and how to develop a wellness program that you and your employees will love.
Wellness in the workplace refers to promoting healthy habits and environments within a workplace—physically, mentally, and emotionally. This can include offering healthy food options, encouraging regular exercise, providing resources for mental health support, and creating a work environment conducive to overall well-being.
The goal of wellness at work is to help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance and improve their overall health and well-being. This can ultimately lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction, as well as reduced absenteeism and healthcare costs for the employer.
There are several reasons why wellness at work should be a top priority.
First and foremost, promoting wellness in the workplace can help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance and improve their overall health and well-being, leading to increased productivity, job satisfaction, and engagement. In addition, when employees are healthy and happy, they are less likely to need time off work due to burnout or illness.
Wellness programs can also help improve company morale and culture, leading to better employee collaboration and teamwork. Additionally, in today’s competitive job market, offering wellness programs can be a valuable benefit that can attract and retain top talent and help employees feel satisfied in their positions.
Implementing a wellness at work program can bring your organization many benefits, from higher engagement and productivity to better company culture.
Stress in the workplace can cause absenteeism and a lack of engagement—addressing mental health with a wellness-at-work program can help decrease your employees’ stress.
And when you can help them manage their stress, you’ll notice fewer signs of burnout in your employees and lower absenteeism rates. These factors can lead to better relationships between coworkers and more successful projects.
Moreover, over half of employees notice a connection between their productivity and well-being.
Committing to workplace wellness shows your employees that you value their happiness and health; over time, this approach will reflect your company culture, attracting new talent and rewarding loyal employees.
A successful wellness at work program requires four key elements:
You must inform your employees about the program and encourage them to participate.
Implement goals and challenges that appeal to a diverse crowd and address various areas of well-being.
Your managers and leadership figures must also participate in the program, making employees more likely to try the benefits you offer.
Ask your employees for feedback to understand how they are doing, how the program has benefited them, and what additional services they would like to see.
How to Start a Wellness Program at Work
A successful wellness at work program is constantly evolving—you don’t need to build it all out right now. Instead, start small and encourage your employees to embrace healthy lifestyle habits.
Here’s how to create a wellness at work program your employees will love:
Talk to Your Employees
Ask your employees (preferably anonymously through an online survey) what wellness services they would benefit most from. In addition, find out if they would like on-site resources or referrals and reimbursement for off-site resources.
Letting your employees lead the way for your wellness program is a surefire way to ensure it’s successful.
Find Program Sponsors
Next, find which employees are most passionate about their well-being and your new wellness program. Executive buy-ins are essential to a successful wellness at work program.
These sponsors can contribute by showing healthy behaviors and working with other employees in your wellness initiatives. The program sponsors aim to inspire your other employees to put their health first.
Form a Workplace Wellness Committee
After choosing your sponsors, identify a group of employees who are dedicated to the program’s success. These employees will be your workplace wellness committee, serving as champions of change to develop the best possible initiatives for your employees.
This committee will review the survey data from step one, choose how employees can benefit from the wellness at work program, create challenges and goals, and more.
Create Obtainable Goals
Speaking of goals, you should work with program sponsors and the wellness committee to determine the objective of your program.
For example, if your employees want to focus on their physical health, you could set a goal for X amount of employees to participate in a wellness screening. Whatever goals you create, you can track the success and progress of your program with them.
Look for the Right Wellness at Work Resources
Once you have set your goals and have decided which wellness services your employees need, talk with different vendors and explore solutions for your wellness program. You need to tailor your program to your employees.
For example, some companies offer smoking cessation assistance to their employees as part of a wellness at work initiative. However, if this behavior isn’t common in your workplace, it’s likely not a program you want to include.
Instead, focus on the resources in which your employees will find the most value rather than those that affect your corporate health plan costs.
By now, you know prioritizing your employees’ wellness at work is necessary—wellness programs have gone from being a nice-to-have to a must-have benefit for corporations worldwide.
So keep your employees healthy and productive by sharing these tips and ideas, gathering feedback from your team, and start rolling out your wellness at work program.
The world is becoming more and more reliant on mobile devices. Nowadays, the vast majority of people have cell phones. The reliance on mobile devices is made even clearer by the fact that 15% of adults in America are “smartphone-only” internet users, meaning their phone is their primary connection to the internet.
Because of these trends, mobile health technology’s benefits are clearer than ever. Reaching patients through mobile platforms is incredibly helpful and, in some cases, absolutely necessary. Keep reading to discover some of the benefits and see how they relate to the world of healthcare.
Most people with a cell phone have it within their reach at all times. In fact, over half of Americans say they do not go longer than 24 hours without checking their cell phone. This makes cell phones the ideal choice for conducting most forms of communication.
For healthcare, this is perfect. It gives patients a method of communication they already have, know how to use, and can access at a moment’s notice. They can book appointments, reach out to providers for questions, or even use telehealth services with a cell phone.
These telehealth services are another key way mobile health technology bridges the gap between patient and provider. Telehealth creates a way to conduct a provider visit without requiring the patient to come into an office. This is helpful for everyone, as it saves patients a lot of time. Still, it is particularly helpful for people with disabilities and patients who live in rural areas, as it makes it easier for them to make an appointment.
Better Adherence to Medication Instructions
Patient engagement can be difficult. A medical professional can give plenty of advice and instruction during an appointment. However, there is no guarantee that a patient will follow or even remember what was said. The patient may even forget to schedule follow-up appointments and, thus, miss out on further treatment.
Mobile health technology helps with this. A mobile device is the perfect platform for delivering information or notifications. Providers can send a written list of instructions to a patient’s phone, so they can access these instructions if they forget them later. Providers can also deliver updates regarding specific aspects of patient care.
In addition, routine health advice can also be given. This includes reminders to eat right, exercise, and engage in other things that benefit community health.
Advances in this field make doing this even easier. Now, many healthcare apps provide automated information and updates. Some even give patients access to their treatment history or other relevant medical information. Plus, apps are streamlined and easy to use, which makes it more likely that a patient will use them.
Have questions about how Xcellent Life fits in your practice? Contact us now to get the answers you need!
Remote Patient Monitoring
The physical gap between patient and provider is often a problem when it comes to providing high-quality healthcare. Patients don’t enjoy constantly coming into an office for appointments, especially if they have mobility difficulties or live far away.
However, with remote patient monitoring, this gap is bridged. Wearable technologies, like smartwatches or fitness monitors, are easy for patients to use and provide providers with important data. The best part is that this information is given without having the patient enter the office.
This can be critical for patients with chronic conditions that must be constantly monitored. Using technologies like these means that these patients can be monitored without majorly disrupting their lives.
This type of technology can even help accelerate research that can lead to important advances in healthcare.
One of the most important elements of any healthcare approach is safety. At the end of the day, patient safety is one of the primary factors determining if a healthcare approach is actually worthwhile. This is another place where mobile health technology is important, as many of the factors already discussed have a positive and direct impact on patient safety.
Telehealth and related services mean that patients schedule more visits and that these visits are possible for everyone. This helps uncover health problems that are hard to detect otherwise, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high cholesterol.
Providing patient instruction and information directly to patients also reduces the chance of mistakes. A patient taking too little or too much of their medication can have a potentially detrimental impact. However, with easy access to the provider’s instructions, patients can do exactly what they need.
Finally, remote monitoring is critical in many situations. For patients with serious conditions, remote monitoring may determine if they are in danger. It has the potential to catch an emergency situation and send out the proper alerts. This is especially helpful if the patient is alone, as emergency services would not otherwise be sent for in these cases.
Better Provider Coordination and Communication
Mobile health technology is clearly helpful for the patient. However, it is also helpful on the provider side of things.
Administrative tasks take up too much time for most healthcare facilities. Scheduling appointments, recording data, and maintaining contact with patients require much work. In many cases, doing this may be a full-time job for one or more people.
However, mobile health technologies can streamline and reduce the amount of work necessary. Having patients schedule appointments via an app prevents someone from having to take the patient’s phone call and input the information automatically. Similarly, automated updates made through an app prevent healthcare workers from having to spend time checking back in with patients. Meanwhile, remote patient monitoring conducted through mobile technologies often inputs data automatically and may even generate helpful data sheets.
These technologies are really good for everyone. They provide patients with better care while improving the efficiency of healthcare institutions. In the end, everyone wins!
How mobile health technology helps patients and providers is now clear. All that is left to explore is how to take advantage of this technology and, in doing so, take advantage of its benefits.
The first thing to do is find a mobile health platform. There are plenty of options out there, but not all of them provide the necessary benefits. Platforms like Xcellent Life are great examples of platforms that provide a robust and successful approach to mobile health.
Once you’ve determined what platform works for you, you are ready to start!
Want to discuss how mobile health technology can help your patients and your team? Schedule a consultation with Xcellent Life today!
The Embedded Technology Convention USA is the central hub to discover the latest technological innovations and trends, expand your industry knowledge and extend your global professional network. https://www.embeddedtechconvention.com/
The OnRamp Healthcare Conference brings together corporations, investors, startups and members of the health care team. The conference highlights innovations disrupting health care and the future of medicine, the health care leaders making such innovations possible and how new technologies and business models will reinvent the industry. Determined to lower cost, increase access and improve outcomes, OnRamp Healthcare is for anyone striving to change healthcare for the better.
The OnRamp Healthcare Conference virtual platform allows for curated connections to help you expand your network. We are placing a big emphasis on offering custom and randomized networking opportunities for all attendees. Please feel free to utilize the networking feature throughout the day!
EthAum Venture Partners is a Deep Tech Accelerator that helps Post-Pilot Enterprise startups acquiring customers and fine-tuning ICP. We enable growth of the Deep Tech startups by bringing Investment, Enterprise Relationships and mentors. EthAum loves revolutionary entrepreneurs and their break through creative ideas in the fields of Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, IoT, Robotics, Extended Reality (AR & VR) etc.
With up to $75,000 on the line and expert judges deciding the winners, this competition is high stakes for the 6 concept stage and 5 seed stage finalists chosen from startups across Alabama. Be sure to join us as we head to Auburn, AL for Alabama Launchpad‘s first LIVE pitch competition of the year!
These companies have worked extensively over the past few weeks with our all-star lineup of Launch Advisors. From pitch prep to product development, the Alabama Launchpad finalists of Cycle 2 2021 have been learning and elevating their companies…and it all comes down to the finale. The finale will feature pitches from the finalist companies and a happy hour with networking opportunities.
Alabama Launchpad helps high-growth companies start, stay, and grow in Alabama while supporting, advocating, and recognizing entrepreneurship statewide. Alabama Launchpad is a program of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.
THE LOCAL WONDER SERIES OF FIRESIDE CHATS WITH CEOS OF THE NASHVILLE BUSINESS COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS AND ALLOWS ENTREPRENEURS WHO WOULD NOT NORMALLY BE ABLE TO SHARE THEIR EXPERTISE, AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHINE. VICTOR BROWN, CEO AND FOUNDER OF XCELLENT LIFE IS A WONDER TO BEHOLD. HE WILL ENCOURAGE COLLEAGUES IN THE #NASHVILLE BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM WITH HIS #STORY; SUCCESSES AND LESSONS LEARNED.
